Author

Date of Award

8-1-2013

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dollinger, Stephen

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine within group thoughts and feelings among African American college students at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and historically White colleges and universities (HWCUs). Hypotheses were tested, 1) internalized stereotypes will be endorsed by more students at HWCUs than at HBCUs, 2) degree of Black Identity would be related to endorsement of internalized stereotypes, 3) students at HBCUs would endorse a higher perception of racial discrimination than those who attend HWCUs, and 4) an exploratory hypothesis examined if students who attend HBCUs have higher self-esteem than those who attend HWCUs. Online questionnaires containing demographic questions, the Multidimensional Inventory of Black Identity (Sellers et al., 1998), the Nadanalization Scale (Taylor & Grundy, 1996), Vignettes of Race Perceptions (Outten et al., 2010), and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1979) were given to 114 college students who self-identified as African American. Univariate analysis of variance, linear regressions, and an independent t-test were use to calculate the associations. Results were discussed in relation to theory and research that purports differences between African American students on school type. Findings indicated that counter to the first research hypothesis, stereotypes of genetic inheritance (SGI) were endorsed by more students at HBCUs than at HWCUs. As hypothesized, degree of Black Identity as defined by private regard was negatively related to stereotypes of mental ability (SMA). Supplemental findings were also discussed regarding relationships between demographic predictor and outcome variables. This study demonstrates that empirically validated individualized theories concerning the indices of Black Identity and internalized stereotypes may provide a better understanding of their formation among African American college students.